Process and apparatus for puffing blast-furnace slag.



- 11. OTTMANN. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOB. PUFPING-BLAS'I' FURNACE SLAG;

APPLIOATIOKI'ILED SEP'I'JA, 1909.

' 1,003,406, Patented Sept. 12,1911.

2 SHEETSBHEET 1.

H. OTTMANN. PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PUFIING BLAST FURNACE SLAG,

I APPLICATION FILED SEPT. 4,'1909. 1,003,406.

2 auxin-sum 2.

gwuawlioz awn/nu Patented Sept. 12, 1911.

jections,

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HEINRICH OTTMANN, OF MUNICH, GERMANY.

PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR PUFFING BLAST-FURNACE SLAG.

Specification of Letters Patent. .Patent'ed Sept. 12, 1911.

Driginal application filed March 28, 1907, Serial No. 365,160. Divided and this application filed September 4, 1909. .Serial No. 516,313.

To all whom it. may concern:

Be it known that I, HEINRICH OTTMANN, citizen of Germany, residing at Munich, Bavaria, Germany, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes and Apparatus for Putting Blast-Furnace Slag, being a division of pending application, Serial No. 365,160, filed March 28, 1907; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a process and apparatur for treating blast-furnace slag and to the products thereby obtained.

The object of the present invention is first a process for the blowing or pulling up of blast-furnace slag, as obtained in the acid process, that is the charcoal gray iron process. This slag, when puffed up according to the present process and comminuted in a machine suitably constructed in accordance with this invention, is exceedingly well suited for the production of building and insulating material. slag puffed up,the so-called artificial pumice stone is mixed with a binding material, which may consist, according to the purpose for which the building material is to be employed, of cement, lime, gypsum, asphalt, magnesia, silicates, pitch, tar-products or the like; For example, a building material made from such slag and cement, lime or silicates may be used with advantage for the production of fire proof masonry such as walls, roofs, floors, plates, for the vaulting in of staircases, the lining of iron construction, the building and insulating of cellars, ice-houses, cold-storage plants, steam boiler coverings and the like.

Since this artificial-pumicestone has only a very small specific gravity and yet shows a relatively great strength, it is especially suitable also for the production of the lightest kind of masonry, as is required for probay-windows, partition walls and the like.

Finally, the material produced according 'to "the present invention has exceedingly good' insulating properties and therefore, is.

especially suitable as a heat insulating material in place of cork, infusorial earth, peatmeal and the like.

For this purpose, the

ratus shown in the accompanying drawings.

is advantageously employed.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation, Fig. 2 a plan, and Fig. 3 a detail end view of a machine for treating the molten sla The apparatus consists essentially of a trough or conduit a of angular cross-section as shown, and of fire proof material, which trough is arranged at a slope in front of the tap-hole b of the blast furnace. In the trough itself are placed one or more crossstrips or rifiles d, which extend upward about two-thirds the 'depth of the trough and are provided at the bottom with openings e. v angular trough, below the slag, for example, in,v the present instance below the slag through a conductor or pipe f, Figs. 1 and 2, which water may be taken with advantage from the cooling water of the blast-furnace.

The operation is as follows:

The slag 9' passes from the blast-furnace o through the opening it into the trough a and dams up against the ritHes 03. At the point. of contact of the slag g, with the water b, there is formed at once in consequence of the cooling, a thin glass-like stratum which prevents the molten slag and the water frornmixing the water entering at a point below where the slag issues. This stratum, which is indicated in Fig. l by thick line is, is now perforated by an apparatus, shown in front View in Fig. 3 and driven from a shaft Z, whereby the hot and partly vaporized water can come into contact with the hot slag and blow or puff it u 1 Iii the present example, the' apparatus consists of a plurality of teeth or tines m, Figs. 1 and 3, which are mounted u on-a common axle n, suitably'journaled ad acent the trough. This is oscillated by means of a cam '01, keyed upon the shaft '1 and acting Water is led into the bottom of this against one end of the axle to, which is bent to form a crank-arm as indicated at 11. Fig. 3. By this means the entire mass of slag is puffed up or made as porous as possible by the water. Obviously, the perforations or punching of the mass .can be done manually, as for example, by picks or the llke. The mass is then spread out upon larger sheet metal oisimilar plates, located in front of the trough in order to solidify thoroughly. In order to obtain a proper sub-division of the mass, endless bands 50 consisting. of wire fabric, and running around rollers or drums y, drivenby means of bevel gear wheels from the shaft Z, are

arranged at the end of the trough. In the present example, three bands are provided,

which move in the direction of the arrows, sothat by this arrangement a rapid cooling and sub-division of the mass can take place upon a sheet metal plate or reservoir arranged above the chambers -w, as shown, said plate or reservoir being advantageously sloped slightly.

It. is to be noted further that the water which is necessary for the formation of the pumice stone, can also be led to the slag from above, for example, through suitable spraying ducts arranged at the trough. Since the pieces of pumice stone are of lrregular size and therefore, without further treatment, unsuitable for most buildin purposes, they are broken into pieces of su stantially equal size in a crushing machine ofa'ny suitable kind.

' According as the material obtained in V the above way is to be employed as building or as insulating material, it is mixed as already explained, with suitable binding for example,

material, such as" cement, gypsum, asphalt or the like for building material, or with silicalte, pitch or the like for insulating ma- I i V In .making the the 'materials must be thoroughly incorporated and then finally brought into the desired form undellpressurathe pressure being maintained un the materials harden or set.

Preferably four to ten parts of the crushed porous slag are mixed with about one part'of the binding materiaL If the body'thus obtainedfi's not water-proof, as

V is the case when cement is employed as a binding material, it can be made water-proof by coating or saturating it with a water-proofin asphalt, pitch, tar an the like. The bod so obtained is remarkabl; folfi its exhghmg greatporosl an ere ore,its t 7 2: air, whose presence of Insula kindwhidiaemadewiththehelpofcclose proximity material such as contamsor induces a 'esofth'm against the influences of the atmosphere, water and fire. L

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim is:-

1. The process which consists in treating molten slag from a blast-furnace working the gray-iron process with water, while simultaneously puncturing the mass, substantially as described 2. The process of treating blast furnace slag which consists in introducing water into the'intcrior of a coherent mass of the molten slag.

3. The process of treating blast furnace slag which consists in superposing a layer of the molten slag upon a body of water and disturbing the area of contact between the two.

4. The process of treating blast furnace slag which consists in superposing a layer of the molten slag upon a confined layer of the area of contact between the two.

5. The combination with a blast furnace having a slag outlet, of a trough arranged to conduct the slag from said outlet, and means for feeding water into said trough into contact with and below the slag m to the slag outlet of the blast furnace.

6. The combination, with a blast furnace having a slag outlet, of a trough of angular cross-section arranged to conduct the slag from-said outlet, and means for feeding water into said trough beneath the slag therein and in close proximity to the slag outlet.

having a. slag outlet, of a trough arranged to conduct the slag from said outlet, means in said trough for damming back the slag, and means for supplying water to said trough below the slag and in close proximity to thevslag outlet;

8. The combination, with a blast furnace havmg a sla outlet, a conduit for conductmg the slag from said outlet, and means for supplylng water to the slag in said condui of means for puncturing said slag in sai trough. 1 9. Thecombination, with a blastfurnaee havinga slag outlet and a conduit fonconducting slagfr'om said outlet, of means for supplying water below the slag in close of .wire fabric arranged to receive the slag from said conduit, said'endles band"; -10. The combination; with a. blast furnace having a slag outlet, and a conduitfor conducting slag from said outlet, of means for supplying water. below the in close proximity endlessbsndsofwncfnbricone arranged to move in one direction and! receive the slag from'the and the remainder to water and puncturing the mass to disrupt.

proximity to theslag outlet, an endless band 7. The combination, with a blast furnace and means for moving cross-section arranged to conduct the slag from the said outlet, meansin said trough for damming back the slag, and means for supplying Water to said trough below the .slag in close proximity to the slag outlet. v

12.. Thecoinblnation, With a blast furnace having a slag outlet, of a conduit for conducting the slag from said outlet, means for supplying Water to said conduit-below the slag and in close'proximity to the slag outlet, and means for puncturing said slagin said trough.

13. The combination, with a blast furnace having a slag outlet, and a trough angular belt, and

in cross-section, for conducting said slag from said outlet, of means for supplying Water to said. conduit below the slag and in close proximity to the slag outlet, and a means for puncturing said slag in said trough.

14. The combination, with a blast furnace having a slag outlet, and a conduit for conducting the slag from said outlet, of means in said trough for damming the slag back, means for supplying Water below the slag in said conduit, and means for puncturing the slag in the said conduit.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

HEINRICH OTT'MANN. WVitnesses ABRAHAM SCI-ILESINGER, LoUIs F. MUELLER. 

